I guess I was annoyed that the concept of don't just do something sit there was applied to religion, the very institution that is the cause and reason, or at least excuse, for so much trouble. Hence my abrupt response to Julie. It's too bad people don't apply it to religion first and foremost. Imagine the possibilities. Don't just pray, sit there ... ----- Original Message ----- From: To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: 4/25/2006 3:24:52 AM Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Tune in and turn off Irene. I feel your pain. I suggest massive does of 5-HTP -- it's available over the counter. It is the body's natural precursor to seratonin. Seratonin helps regulate sleep, sex drives, appetite, energy levels, etc. Julie Krueger ========Original Message======== Subj:[lit-ideas] Re: Tune in and turn off Date:4/23/06 5:26:55 P.M. Central Daylight Time From:aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxx To:lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent on: It doesn't mean much. People don't even know they're hungry or sleepy half the time, and those are discrete bodily sensations. We've had multiple discussions on phil lit and here that people ?act out? their emotions because they can't put words to them and deal with them rationally or at least less destructively. Let?s take the case of the neighbor that Paul Stone wrote about, who parks his car in front of Paul?s house. The neighbor has to know that it annoys Paul, but he does it anyway. Why? Why did Clinton have the affair with Monica? Why did Monica have the affair with Clinton? Did she have a clue? Does anyone who has an affair have a clue other than lust? Do you think the people who are clamoring for war would clamor so loud if they had another way to express their anger? It?s the whole basis of psychohistory, the reenacting of childhood needs and patterns through war and conflict. Psychohistory is large scale behavior; Bill and Monica is the same idea on an individual level. (I like Bill Clinton.) Ultimately, there are four basic ways men in particular are allowed to express their emotions in our society: violence, money, sex, and when all else fails or is unavailable, depression. The operative words here are express their emotions. If they are not expressing their emotions, what are they doing? Deaf children who are not taught language are in this situation but in a far worse, far more intense way. They get, say, angry, can't express it because they don't have the words to say, I hate you Johnny, so they throw a chair. Unfortunately, ?normal? people with normal hearing and speaking skills do the same thing. They get angry, they hit their kids, start a war. Best case scenario, they act passive aggressively in one form or another. Parents are among the worst offenders: kid says, I hate grandma. Mom says, you don't hate grandma. Kid thinks, gee, it sure feels like I hate grandma but maybe I don't hate grandma. Or the famous I'll give you something to cry about, meaning, I'm feeling something but it?s a lot safer not to, so I'll go and smash a window or fail arithmetic to get back at dad. Eventually that response to shut down the feeling becomes automatic. But feelings won't be shut down, they only go elsewhere. So, basically, in response to your question, yes, the word feeling doesn't mean much. > [Original Message] > From: Robert Paul <robert.paul@xxxxxxxx> > To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Date: 4/23/2006 4:33:31 PM > Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Tune in and turn off > > > It's a cognitive disorder nobody has. If people had a clue what they were > > feeling, why would they promote death and destruction and pay good money > > for it? They go to war to scratch an itch that's making them crazy but > > that they can't get to, i.e., bothersome feelings they can't reach. If > > people knew what they were feeling, they would stand a chance of ridding > > Are you saying that people never know what they're 'feeling'? If your > hypothesis is that people are (always?) mistaken about what they're > feeling (they think they're feeling lust but they're really feeling > compassion) what's the criterion for saying they're really feeling > compassion, not lust? Who determines that? If you're saying that nobody > ever knows what he or she is feeling, what does the word 'feeling' mean? > > Robert Paul > Feeling groovy (or maybe angst?) > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, > digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html